Not Quite Monstrous
by HecateA
Summary: After the realization he comes to during a visit to Azkaban, Kingsley Shacklebolt rather not have a soulmate. Oneshot. Written for Romance Awareness Day 21: When you're near your soulmate, time begins to loop (think Groundhog day) until you actually meet.


**Author's Note: **Oof, file this under "list of things I wrote to satisfy a prompt and that are really weird but that I hope you enjoy anyways." Written for Romance Awareness Day 21: When you're near your soulmate, time begins to loop (think Groundhog day) until you actually meet.

**Disclaimer: **The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this story derives from her original works, storylines, and world. Please do not sue me, I can barely pay tuition.

**Warnings: **NA

* * *

**Stacked with: **MC4A; Shipping War; Ray of Blades

**Individual Challenge(s): **Gryffindor MC; Bow Before the Blacks; Seeds; Golden Times; Old Shoes; Themes and Things A (Love); Themes and Things B (Reunion); Trope it Up A (Enemies to Friends to Lovers); Ethnic and Present; True Colours; Rian-Russo Inversion (Y); In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux

**Representation(s): **Auror Kingsley

**Bonus challenge(s):** Second Verse (Pear-Shaped); Chorus (Middle Name)

**Tertiary bonus challenge: **NA

**Word Count: **779

* * *

_**Shipping Wars**_

**Ship (Team): **Sirius Black/Kingsley Shacklebolt (Starry Storms)

**List (Prompt): **Spring Big List (Getting Together)

* * *

**Not Quite Monstrous **

When Kingsley woke up, he heard Mad-Eye's familiar barking voice and a few others that he didn't recognize. Blinking himself awake and squinting at the bright lighting, he soon recognized the lime green robes of St. Mungo's Healers. He still felt light-headed and woozy and he wasn't sure how he'd gotten to where he was right now—in a stretcher, it seemed, being walked down a hallway…

"Sir?" Kingsley croaked.

Mad-Eye turned to look at him.

"'Atta boy, Shackblebolt," the Auror grunted. "Welcome back around."

"What happened?" Kingsley asked. Last he recalled, he and Mad-Eye had been in Azkaban leading the Minister for Magic's annual tour of the prison… But even that memory felt distant and untraceable, it was as if he'd lost a chunk of time.

"Nothing you need to worry about," Mad-Eye grunted. "That blasted place is hard for anyone to stomach…"

"Azkaban?" Kingsley croaked. "But I… did I pass out?"

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," Mad-Eye said forcibly. "I give everyone trouble for everything except for that—blasted place isn't fit for human presence, much less habitation…"

"No," Kingsley frowned. "No, that's not right, I… I've been before. I can cast a Patronus. It doesn't affect me, that's why you chose to bring me…"

"Sir, we need him to stay calm until we can make sure he didn't hurt his head when falling," a Healer said.

"Shacklebolt," Mad-Eye said more seriously. "It's nothing. We'll put a note on your file to keep you away from Azkaban—you're not the first Auror and you're not the last with a particular sensitivity to that place, innate or acquired…"

"I can do it," Kingsley mumbled.

"Enough, Shacklebolt. Besides, we were getting closer to Black's cell and he's got more Dementors on him than any other prisoner I've ever seen."

"Black?" Kingsley echoed.

"Sir, enough about work," the Healer chimed in again. "He needs rest."

"I don't understand," Kingsley echoed again.

"Auror Shacklebolt," the Healer said sweetly. "Auror Shacklebolt, my name is Healer Tonks, but you can call me Andromeda, I'll be your Healer today… we're going to go ahead and administer a sleeping draught to give your body some time to recover, okay?"

"Okay," Kingsley croaked since that possibility sounded much more attractive than puzzling this mess out and trying to recall what exactly had happened.

He was quite sure that Mad-Eye and Healer Tonks thought he was asleep when they exchanged whispers.

"I haven't talked to Sirius in years," Andromeda whispered. "I was as shocked as anyone when he was locked away, I… I honestly don't know anything about his soulmate. Why do you ask, Auror Moody?"

"I think I just found him," Mad-Eye grumbled.

"No," Andromeda gasped. "Oh no… Are you… I mean, what you were telling him made sense too… Azkaban's a dreadful place, we still understand so little about the effect of Dementors on people…"

"I know what you mean," Mad-Eye grumbled. "But I bring Shacklebolt with me to these things because he's always been able to handle it. The only difference today was that Black's locked up now."

"My gosh," he head Andromeda say. "That's…"

"That's going to be hell to deal with when Shacklebolt wakes up," Mad-Eye grumbled.

Kingsley kept his eyes closed, to avoid waking up just then and facing it. Because yes, learning that your soulmate was a monster was a lot to process.

* * *

"I know this is a shock," Dumbledore said, taking another sip of his tea, leaving the Aurors staring at the emaciated, shaggy-haired, heavily tattooed man standing before them.

"We're sure of this?" Tonks asked, turning to look at Mad-Eye.

Hestia Jones and Dedalus Diggle also looked back to him. Kingsley could barely look away from Sirius Black, couldn't really process the fact that England's most wanted wizard and his… well, that he was just standing there in ill-fitting jeans and a simple black sweater.

But he turned back to Mad-Eye, desperate to hear what his answer would be.

Mad-Eye seemed to have anticipated this, because he made a point of his eye contact with Kingsley involving both of his eyes. They had never talked about what Kingsley had overheard in the hospital. Mad-Eye had apparently decided to spare Kingsley the knowledge. But Kingsley had never brought up Azkaban again, and had never asked Mad-Eye what had happened. He may suspect that Kingsley had understood what his sudden fainting spells in Azkaban meant.

But now Kingsley needed to know.

"He's innocent," Mad-Eye nodded. "There… there was a mistake."

"Let's call it that," Sirius said with a sarcastic grin.

The reaction amongst the cluster of Aurors being inaugurated to the Order of the Phoenix was mixed.

Kingsley felt nothing but relief.


End file.
